State Appeals Court Hears Case Of Man Who Killed Oklahoma Trooper

An attorney for a man who was sentenced to death in the fatal shooting of a state trooper almost nine years ago has asked the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to modify his sentence to life in prison.

Defense attorney Lee Ann Peters made the request Tuesday during oral arguments in the appeal of Ricky Malone, who was convicted of first-degree murder in trooper Nik Green's 2003 shooting death.

12/26/2011 Related Story: OHP Remembers Trooper On 8th Anniversary Of His Murder

Investigators say Malone shot Green with the trooper's gun after Green found him in a car that contained a mobile methamphetamine lab.

Assistant Attorney General Seth Branham urged the court to uphold the death sentence.

The court previously overturned the death sentence and ordered a new sentencing trial. A Comanche County judge re-sentenced Malone to death in 2010.

11/1/2010 Related Story: Former Oklahoma Firefighter Sentenced To Death For 2nd Time